Cherry Blossoms and Blood
by PhantasmalEminence
Summary: Chun Yan began studying abroad in Japan after receiving Sakura as a pen pal, and is not treated very nicely by the other students. One day, she hears of a legend about a British student who massacred his class thirty years back. Seeing their similarities, she sets out to help this boy, but no ghost story is solved without horror.


**Notes from Phantasm:** This story was inspired from this post on tumblr post/77239188565/bearholdt-pastelmorgue-marshmallowpuffs

I thought it would make for a really good fanfiction idea so here it is! Also, I am again using fem!china, and I am somewhat scared that I come off as homophobic for writing a straight pair all the time, but just to clarify that really is not my intention. I just really like fem!china, but if anyone would like to see the normal China in my stories, please tell me.

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It has been about a month since I started studying in Japan. So far, I don't feel very at home. I am having a lot of trouble making friends, or simply fitting in for that matter. My Japanese is very slow, and the hiragana and katakana confuses me. My classmates seem to only see me as a foreigner, with the only exception being my pen pal, Sakura.

Before I started studying abroad, I did a pen pal program and got paired with Sakura. She sent me a lot of cute items, and somehow I became fascinated with her culture. My curiosity took me on a semester study to Sakura's school, and her family became my host family. To make me feel welcome, Sakura has given up a lot, including her own friends. I will definitely return the favor should she ever want to come to China one day.

"Chun Yan?" Sakura's voice shook me out of my thoughts and I glanced up at her. She was holding a lunch bento. "It's time to eat. Shall we go to the roof?"

"Sure," I smiled, getting out of my seat to join her.

As we got to our usual spot, there were a group of girls around that area who were giggling to each other. I could only assume that they were gossiping. I tried not to listen to their conversation as I ate my lunch, but I could no longer help it when I heard them mention a foreigner. I could only assume they were talking about me. They spoke a little too fast for me to pick up every word, but I was able to make a little sense of what they were saying. They said something about me snapping and shooting the entire class like some kid did decades back. I would ask Sakura about it later.

After school, I decided to bring up what the girls at lunch were gossiping about.

"Sakura?" I began, and she stopped walking to turn to me. She did not say anything, but I knew that she meant for me to continue. "What those girls said at lunch…about me snapping."

"Oh Chun Yan, please don't listen to them. I know this school hasn't been welcoming, but please don't let it get to you," Sakura plead. I felt bad for her, really. She lost a lot of her friends, now she thinks that I will think badly of her country.

"That's not it," I assured her. "I just wanted to know about what happened to the kid from years ago that they were talking about."

Sakura's eyes widened, and she began walking again. I caught up with her, and saw that her face was paler than usual. Her nails were in her mouth, but she resisted the urge to bite them.

"Follow me," she said, leading me off of our usual path. I followed her, but I was unnerved by how scared she looked. If it was going to frighten her, I would rather her not talk about it.

"Sakura, if you feel uncomfortable talking about it, then-" I was cut off as Sakura stopped.

"This is as far as we can go. I don't know if you can see it, but there's a school around her," Sakura said, pointing at a barely visible roof.

"I see it, but why can't we go any further?" I asked, curious as to why she could not simply give me an explanation.

Sakura glanced at the ground, then back up at the roof. "This school has been abandoned for decades. Around the 1970s, a British student attended this school. Like you, he was constantly referred to as an outsider. Unlike you, he did not have any friends at all. His host family wasn't that warm to him either."

"Wow, and I thought I had it hard," I sighed. Sakura smiled at me sympathetically, then looked back that the school to continue the story.

"One day, he completely lost it. After being locked inside a supply closet, he was late for class and the teacher did not believe his alibi. The bullying continued, but no one intervened. Not even the teacher. Having enough, the British boy finally stood up for himself. He punched the bully, but that only earned him detention. The teacher left him to his punishment, and instead of writing the notes on the board, he grabbed some black ink and began to paint on the windows."

Blinking my eyes, I interrupted Sakura's story, "I'm sorry, but he lost it and began to paint on the window? I would have done much worse."

"He did," Sakura's voice began to shake, but I could tell she was trying to hold her composure. "After he went home that night, his host family continued to yell at him. Having had enough with the pointless cruel treatment, he killed his entire host family while they were sleeping. After that, he got ahold of the gun his host family had, and shot his entire class the next morning. The paint he left on the windows had not been washed yet, so he used his classmates' blood to finish the painting. By the time the police arrived, the boy had shot himself."

"That's awful," I sighed. "I know what he did was wrong, but I somehow pity the boy more than I do his classmates and his host family."

"I know," Sakura faintly smiled. "I felt bad for him too. Legend has it that he still haunts that abandoned school. After that incident, someone would always die every year, so they finally shut down the school. Whenever someone enters that building, they never come out. That's why I could only take you this far. If we cross the line, I don't want to know what would happen."

Seeing the sun about to set, Sakura grabbed my arm and walked as fast as she could away from that area.

That night, I could not get that story out of my head. Some things just did not add up. I wondered why those girls from school joked about this matter while Sakura was scared to death just talking about it. There was no way she could have been tied to that legend as it took place over thirty years ago. A smile crept onto my face as I thought about what my dad would say about me thinking about such a tale so late into the night. I had class the next morning so it would be best if I just slept. That sounded really nice.

The next day, I began my usual routine to school, but something was off. The school looked very different. The walls were an off white color, almost grey. My school had cream colored walls, and I do not remember the lockers being that small. Come to think of it, none of the students looked familiar. And where was Sakura?

All of my thoughts suddenly vanished when I came across a room. It was empty, and the chalkboards looked like they had not been washed in a long time. Despite that, the room looked really pretty. The sunlight that shined through the windows brought out the view of the lovely cherry blossom tree. That tree looked more beautiful than any another cherry blossom tree I had ever seen. It gave the classroom a beautiful pink hue. Smiling, I walked towards the windows, wanted to get a better view of the tree.

As I came closer to the window, I stopped dead in my tracks. An overwhelming sense of fear washed over me when I realized that it was not a cherry blossom tree I was looking at. No, it was blood.

"Isn't it pretty?" a voice with an obvious English accent said behind me.

I spun around to see a boy appearing to be seventeen standing across from me. He had scruffy blonde hair, rather bushy eyebrows, and the most beautiful green eyes. Usually, I would not be able to take my eyes away from his brows, but for some reason, my eyes were locked on his. Those green eyes looked so lonely, so lost.

"Isn't it pretty?" he asked again. I began to think of what he was asking. His pronunciation was worse than mine, making it even more difficult to understand his Japanese. After a few seconds, I picked out the word "pretty".

"Yes, it's very beautiful," I replied, now beginning to understand the situation.

"There's still room on the window. Would you like to contribute?" the boy asked, raising a gun at me. Before I could respond, I heard a loud gun shot.

My eyes snapped open and I saw Sakura standing at the door.

"It's time to get up," she said in a groggy tone. It was then I realized how tense my body was. I stood up and stretched, trying to relieve the tension. Sakura did not seem to notice and continued into the bathroom to brush her teeth.

The two of us continued on our normal path to school, but I could not stop thinking about that dream. Sakura mentioned a painting, but I do not recall her telling me what the painting was.

"Sakura, what did the boy paint?" I asked, unable to keep it in.

"Eh?" Sakura said, tilting her head towards me. "You're still thinking about that? Well, he painted a cherry blossom tree, why?"

Hearing Sakura's answer made my heart freeze. I stopped walking and almost collapsed from fright. Seeing my frightened form, Sakura turned around and ran towards me.

"Chun Yan! Are you okay?" I felt her grab my shoulders as I tried to catch my breath. "Do you need some water?"

Regaining my composure, I stood up straight and told Sakura about my dream last night.

"That's really weird. If anything, I thought I would be the one with the dream."

"What?"

"Before you came to Japan, a couple friends and I took a dare and went inside that school. I don't want to say anything explicitly scary happened, but it is really haunted. I didn't see the boy, but the room that was supposed to have the bloody painting was definitely there. After the investigation, the room was cleaned. We confirmed it when we looked at the room from the outside. But when my friends and I went in, the painting was there. I know it was not our imagination. We all saw the same thing, and I even touched it!"

So that was why Sakura was always so afraid of talking about it. I knew I should not be investigating this matter, but I wanted to help the boy. He massacred his entire class, but that fact did not make me hate him.

"Sakura," I began, slightly afraid of telling her my plan. "Can you tell me all you know about this incident?"

"Why would you want to learn more?" she asked, wide eyed.

"I think the boy is in pain, and I want to help him ease it," I answered, not meeting her eyes.

"I know you pity him because he was in a similar position, but you know he did not stop at killing his school. He killed anyone else that dared to enter the building long after the massacre."

Sakura had a point. He did continue to kill, but I was not convinced. Sakura and her friends all made it out alive, and she never knew what kind of people entered the abandoned school. Did the British boy only kill bullies? Was there only a certain time he would kill? Was it a curse? I had to find out for myself.

"Well, you don't know his reasoning for continuing. Please, Sakura."

"Fine, but under certain conditions. First of all, I will not go back inside that school. Second of all, if you plan to go in by yourself, and you're not out within the first half hour, I am calling the police to go rescue you."

I took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. Sakura was too cautious and worrisome, but complying with her conditions was the only way she would help me and not tell her parents. So I agreed with her, and we made plans to go to that school tonight.

"You are crazy, I hope you know that," Sakura whispered as we both stood outside. She was still refusing to go past a certain point, and I had to admit that the place was a lot scarier at night. I mentally prepared myself to enter the school. I knew that if I did not do it now, I would lose the courage. My resolve was to help this boy, so I could not back out.

Giving Sakura a small nod, I ran past her stopping point and towards the abandoned school. I stopped at the front entrance and observed it. If anyone bothered to board the enrty, all the evidence was gone. I guess since so many people had trespassed, it would be pointless to try and keep anyone out. The doors were even ripped off their hinges so entering physically would be easy, but I felt beads of sweat begin to form on my forehead. Well, it was now or never. Squeezing my eyes shut, I ran in.

Not wanting to trip, I opened my eyes and observed my surroundings. It was dark, but the silhouettes of the lockers, doors, windows, and anything else left behind were eerily similar to my dream. I took out my flashlight and began heading upstairs to the room. When I entered, the window was clean. Walking closer, I observed that not a single trace of paint or blood remained. I felt disappointed, yet relieved. Perhaps the boy had already moved on.

Turning around to leave, the same boy I saw in my dream was at the door to greet me. Relief gone, I stood at my spot, frozen. Every time I tried to move, my body stood still. It was as if something was holding me to the ground. I felt my knees growing week, then the rest of my body began to tremble. I felt very cold.

Seeing that I was not moving, the boy walked towards me, empty green eyes locked onto mine. His ghastly form advancing towards me prompted my adrenaline and I raised my flashlight in a defensive manner.

"Stay back! I'm warning you!" I shouted, subconsciously backing up as he came closer. Before I knew it, I had backed myself up against the window. As my back touched the window, I felt warmth emitting from it. It was then I realized there was sunlight pouring through the glass. The abandoned school had transformed into a lively building with students chatting at the desks.

"Freak! What's up with his hair?"

"What about those eyes?"

I turned my head to where the voices were coming from, only to see the British boy sitting in a corner while the other students threw crumpled paper at him. Angry at the way he was being treated, I approached his bullies. As I reached a hand out to grab one of their shoulders, my hand passed right through them. Startled, I pulled my hand back.

"What?" I said to myself. This must be a vision of a time period that boy wanted me to see. Before I could comprehend anything else, a loud slap echoed throughout the room. One of the bullies had slapped the boy, leaving a mark. The boy's head was tilted to one side, his hair covering his eyes. He simply turned his head back and went back to reading.

"Hey westerner!" I heard someone else shout. Still, I had to think about what they said, so I did not understand the entire conversation. But I managed to pick up some words about him always being an outsider.

While I was busy in my thoughts, the boy suddenly went flying across the room. One of the other students had thrown him. The boy did not even retaliate. He simply got back up and attempted to walk back to his seat before being blocked. The one who threw him grabbed him by the collar and threw him on the ground. A group of guys all surrounded him and as one boy jerked him up, the rest joined in shoving him around like a rag doll. The female students laughed and called him "weak" for not being able to defend himself.

"Teacher!" a girl shouted and all the boys went back to their seats. The British boy was the only one who did not make it back to his seat in time. When the teacher walked in, she looked furious.

Again, I am sorry that my Japanese is not good enough to pick up on every word, but I heard her call him Arthur Kirkland. She also said something about him making a habit of always being out of his seat, and that counted as a tardy. Then I think she muttered something about western students having little knowledge on professional conduct.

Then, the entire room turned back to the abandoned building. I turned around to see the painting was now there. Feeling the presence still with me, I slowly faced him.

"I'm sorry," I whispered in English, figuring he would prefer that over Japanese.

Instead of responding, the Arthur glared at me with eyes intent on murder. As he took a step closer to me, I ran for the door. At that moment, I completely lost sight of what I had set out to do. Hearing his story, seeing it for myself, all of that made me pity him. However, at this very moment I only wanted to get away from him. I did not dare look back, fearing he might be hot on my trail.

In a hysterical state, I made a dash for the stairs. I just needed to get out of there. As I approached the staircase, Arthur met me at the bottom. He was staring at the ground, and as I slowly backed up, his head began to rise. Seeing his state only made me even more afraid. If he looked frightening before, it was nothing compared to what I saw now. There was blood running from his temple, where a gaping hole stood. His face looked like it was decaying, his hair clumped together by the blood spewing everywhere. When his eyes were locked on me, he pulled out a gun. Screaming, I turned and began running as fast as I could back up the stairs.

The hallway was not how I remembered it, abandoned or from that time. The walls were covered in red, and everywhere I looked soulless eyes stared back at me. Squeezing my eyes shut, I attempted to convince myself that it was all just a dream, only for my hopes to be dashed when I heard footsteps behind me.

"Please!" I begged. "I-I didn't mean to intrude! I just want to help you!"

"I'm lonely. Please stay here with me," Arthur said, raising his gun.

"No!" I shouted swatting the gun out of his hand. His eyes widened, and he glanced over to the spot where the gun fell. Seeing my chance, I lunged myself at the gun. I felt my stomach lurch as I hit the ground, only for the gun to be just a little out of reach. I began crawling towards it, my heart beating as if it was a last resort to keep me alive. My fingertips almost touched the gun when I felt something wrap around my ankle, jerking me further from the gun.

My eyes had been so focused on the gun that I did not even know what happened next. Before I had a chance to react, I felt a strong arm lock around my chest. I tried to turn my head towards Arthur, only to feel a rounded object touch my temple. I heard the sound of a gun click, and my hand quickly flew towards the sound. My fingers tightened around Arthur's arm, and I shook my head with tears streaming down my cheeks.

"I'm lonely. Please stay here with me," he repeated.

Feeling his arm loosen around my chest, I stepped out to face him, my hands cupped around his. I looked at him with sorrowful eyes, but again shook my head.

"No, Arthur. I cannot stay here with you. I don't belong here, and neither do you," I explained, keeping his hands locked in mine. "Even if you were to kill me, I would not stay. Unlike you, I would just move on."

Arthur kept staring at me with his empty eyes, but after a minute life began to pour back in. I gave him an understanding smile when tears began to come out, and the hole in his head began to heal.

"So that's why you continued to kill people. You just wanted someone to suffer with you, but they all passed on rather than stay. Why don't you do the same?"

"I can't. In a state of anger, I killed my classmates. Then I cowered away and killed myself before I could repent. God will never forgive me. I will go to hell," Arthur said sadly.

When he brought up his religion, I could not think of a way to comfort him without offending him. He believed he would be punished, and he was afraid of that.

"Well, you spared Sakura and her friends. There must be some good left in you," I assured. "There's still a chance you can be forgiven."

Continuing to cry, Arthur shook his head. "I did not intend to spare them, and I don't know why I did. Something just made me leave them alone."

Hugging him, I stroked his hair like a mother would. I felt him smile against my shoulder. He may have been my age before he died, but that feeling of having someone to lean on was something no one was too old to for.

"No one will know how you felt, just like you will never know how anyone else feels, including God. You don't know that he is angry. Maybe he pities you, and will give you a chance to repent. Now please. Just move on. I know those bullies were bigoted, but let me tell you a secret. I used to not like British people."

Hearing this, Arthur pushed himself off me. I was scared that he was angry and would go back to terrorizing me, but if anything he looked surprised. I smiled and continued my story.

"After learning about the Opium Wars, I thought that Great Britain was a country that only knew how to pillage and destroy. I had never met a British person before, but when I first heard your story, the only thing I knew was that you were British. Even then, I wanted to help you. That was when I realized that it is never the race, appearance, or social class of a person that makes them likeable. Now please give me a reason to like you and go face God."

After I finished, Arthur simply gave me a genuine smile.

"Thank you," he said, pulling me into his chest.

"No, thank you," I replied. "I knew there was a reason I had those dreams. It was not only to help you, but also prove to myself that I can conquer spite. That's why Sakura was spared. Without her, I would have never made it to Japan, and I would have never met you. I wish I would have met you on better terms though."

"If I am given a second chance, I want to see you again," Arthur said, holding my hand near his heart.

He slowly lifted my hand towards his lips and warmly kissed it before fading away. As the last of him disappeared from my sight, I felt all energy drain from my body. The room began to spin and the last thing I saw was the ceiling before darkness overtook me.

The next morning, I woke up in Sakura's house. She came in after I heard the alarm rang and shut it off for me.

"You didn't come out last night and I got worried, so I called the police. They found you passed out inside, but there was no sign of bodily harm. My parents are angry with us for sneaking out, but they'll get over it. We have extra chores to do as punishment, though," Sakura explained. "By the way, what happened in there?"

"I think he is finally at peace," I said, getting up to get dressed.

"Is he? That's good," Sakura sighed happily.

At school, the teacher announced that a new exchange student from England was joining our class today. I was surprised at this news, but even more surprised when the student came in. He had shaggy blond hair, thick eye brows, and beautiful green eyes. The greatest shock of all was when he introduced himself.

"Good morning, class," the boy said. "My name is Arthur Kirkland, and I am from London, England. I am sorry that my Japanese is not that good, but I hope to learn from you all."

The class greeted him warmly, and he was told to take a seat next to me. He approached me, smiled, and sat down. Curious, I decided to talk to him and see if he remembered anything.

"Hey, you look familiar," I began nervously, "Have we met?"

"I don't believe so," he replied.

I did not know whether to be relieved that he did not remember me or disappointed. But I was happy for him. It looks like he was given a second chance, and his God was even kind enough to fulfill his second request.

"But I would like to get to know you. Will you have lunch with me?" Arthur asked with a hopeful smile.

Returning the smile, I happily nodded.

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**Notes from Phantasm:** Hard to believe this was only my second IggyChu fanfic, and it is my otp! I can feel the tea family glaring daggers at me xD


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